Sneak Peek Sundays ~ Lissa Bryan

From the author of The End of All Things comes a collection of short stories about the Infection that swept around the globe, decimating the population, and leaving behind a small number of survivors, unprepared to deal with the brutal new world which had replaced the one they’d known.

The End of All Things told the story of Carly Daniels and Justin Thatcher’s travels across a shattered nation in search of a safe place to settle, after the pandemic. But it was also a journey into love, and an affirmation of hope. Carly finds strength in her faith that things can be even better than they were before, that compassion and charity are not luxuries; they are what make us human. Life endures, and so does love. The End of All Things is only a beginning.

Two of them are an introduction new characters from the upcoming sequel to The End of All Things, and the other two are a visit with old friends.

The Horsemen

L.A.’s mayor has declared quarantine to try to halt the spread of the Infection. Pearl sets off across the city to buy supplies, but already the world is changing. Something strange is in the air. The Horsemen are coming …

Veronica

When Veronica’s mother doesn’t come home from work and no one answers the phone when she calls for help, a nine-year-old girl is thrown into the chaos of a world coming to an end. Veronica decides it’s up to her to find her family. “Veronica” is the story of a little girl’s courage in the face of the end of all things.

“I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud”

They called her Shadowfax – the mare Carly and Justin found on their travels. But before she was found by Carly, the retired dressage horse was known as Cloud. An unusual tale of the end, told through the eyes of a confused and lonely horse, left in her pasture.

Birthday

A previously-published bonus story. Carly knows Justin has never celebrated his birthday, and after society crumbled, no one knows what date it is, anyway. But she wants to do something special for him. Celebrating the little things helps them keep hope alive, and as a blizzard rages outside, a small gesture of love warms their home.

Veronica made herself a bologna sandwich at lunchtime and ate it in front of the TV. The soap operas should be on now, but they were still showing the news. That guy her mom thought was so cute, Troy Cramer, was talking about how everyone was getting the flu. Lots of people were at the hospital, and they were closing schools in some places.

She put in another movie. By the time it was done, her mom should be home from work. She would tell Veronica that her car had broken down and she’d lost her cell phone or something, and be so proud of Veronica for taking care of herself. Or she would say that David had gotten sick, but it was a false alarm and everything was fine now.

Everything would be fine.

Five p.m. Any minute now.

Five thirty. Just traffic. Or David’s daycare teacher wanted to talk.

Six.

Seven.

Veronica sobbed as she curled up on the couch, crying like she hadn’t cried in years. “I want my mom,” she told the empty room.

She wiped her face with her palms and went into the kitchen. It was unavoidable now. She had to call her dad. She couldn’t spend another night alone. As she dialed, she remembered a book she’d read last summer called Pippi Longstocking. It was about a little girl who lived all by herself, and when she’d read it, Veronica had thought about how much fun it would be to have Pippi’s big house and all of that freedom. But now, such a fate seemed horrifying.

Her dad’s phone rang. And rang.

And rang.

His voice mail didn’t even pick up. She waited, because surely he’d see their number on the screen and pick up. He would pick up because she was letting it keep on ringing, and he’d realize it was something important when she didn’t hang up.

It kept on ringing.

Veronica thought she’d cried out all the tears she had, but she was wrong. She sobbed into the receiver, and those sobs turned into hiccups. She had to grab a paper towel from the counter to blow her nose, because she couldn’t breathe.

The phone stopped ringing, and a voice came on the line. Veronica sucked in a breath so fast she choked. She started crying again when it was just a recording saying that the other party wasn’t answering. Then there was just the hum of an empty line.